Summer Night Lights in Dinuba is getting a little bigger, thanks to the addition of the newly created Downtown Dinuba Certified Farmers Market.

A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday in Downtown Dinuba.

"We want to promote healthy living and we want to give people education to start living a healthier life," said market manager Stephanie Hurtado of the city of Dinuba Recreation Department. "We want to see people eating more fruits and vegetables and buying those things as snacks instead of things like chips and sodas."

Organizers said they'd like to use the farmers market's fresh fruits and vegetables to help fight the epidemic of obesity and its life threatening complications.

The farmers market is taking place Fridays for six-weeks alongside the already popular Summer Night Lights. On Fourth of July weekend it's taking place Thursday, July 3.

Summer Night Lights typically gets about 300 visitors, but that grows to about 3,000 on July 3 because it's combined with the city's aerial fireworks show. The farmers market portion will be scaled down a bit and moved into a nearby parking lot that day.

"We're doing the six weeks as a test trial to see how successful it is and to see if we get a lot of people coming out," Hurtado said. "If it's successful, we would definitely be interested in extending the farmers market part of it."

The farmers market is the work of the city of Dinuba and the Network Leaders on the Move, a Tulare County partnership formed in August to help start the market. The network is formed by organizations such as Kaweah Delta Health Care District Community Outreach, Family Health Care Network and the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency.

The Visalia Farmers Market also has helped with the organization of the new market.

Four farmers will be at the first market selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Three of them are WIC-certified. The WIC office will be at the market handing out senior vouchers for those who qualify.

There will also be four food vendors selling shaved ice, roasted corn, funnel cakes and churros. Along with five booths selling accessories. Information booths promoting things like healthy living will also be available.

The Summer Night Lights portion, which begins at 7 p.m., offers free food, music, games and bounce houses for kids.

"The farmers market is one more venue to provide access to fresh fruits and vegetables," said Eustolia Zamora-Bonilla, Kaweah Delta community health worker. "Obviously, the city of Dinuba has great grocery stores, but it's not just about that. It's about family engagement and family involvement. It's also about the surrounding communities."

Zamora-Bonilla said communities like London and Cutler-Orosi will also benefit from the farmers market. Since the start of the network, the group always looked at the big picture, she added.

"We want this one to stay, we want it to be successful and we want it to grow," Hurtado said. "We thought adding it to an event that's already successful and going would be the way to grow this farmers market big enough to stand on its own eventually."

Dinuba City Council members and Sen. Andy Vidak will be present at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"It would be challenging to go annual, but I'd love to see it go annual," Zamora-Bonilla said. "It's a pilot project and we're working with all these partners, so hopefully they continue to support to the market. It's important there's partner involvement and community involvement. If there is, we know this can be sustainable."